Apparatus and Methods for Phototherapy

ABSTRACT

There is provided a phototherapy apparatus, in which the therapeutic light is delivered through one or more massage components. The massage component provides mechanical massage to the subject biological tissue and modifies the properties of the subject tissue in thickness, density, etc. to facilitate the absorption of the therapeutic light and enhance the effect of the phototherapy procedure. The light source of the phototherapy apparatus is actively cooled by a synthetic jet cooler.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to apparatus and methods for phototherapy.

BACKGROUND

Phototherapy relates to treatment of biological tissues, such as skintissues, using visible, ultraviolet, and/or infrared lights. The lighttreatment may be applied solely for sterilization, pain relief,bio-modulation, and photo-rejuvenation. Alternatively, the treatment maybe used in combination with certain photo-sensitive drugs or nutritionsupplements. In comparison with laser surgery, the light intensityemployed in phototherapy is much lower. Thus the light sources used inphototherapy are not limited to lasers but may include light emittingdiodes (LEDs) and/or certain types of lamps as well. Typicalapplications of phototherapy include wound healing, cellulite reduction,skin rejuvenation, pain relief, fat reduction and contouring, laseracupuncture, pressure ulcer treatment, etc.

It is well known in the prior art that phototherapy may be applied incombination with mechanical massage. Some examples can be found in U.S.Pat. No. 7,033,382 to Lach; and U.S. Patent Application Nos. 20060253051to Milne et al, 20060235494, 20040236252 to Muzzi et al, and 20070073366to Porco. However, none of the prior art suggests to apply phototherapywith mechanical massage in a concerted manner, where phototherapy andmechanical massage are applied to the same target area and benefit fromeach other thereby producing significantly improved therapeutic results.Furthermore, none of the prior art discloses a compactphototherapy/massage wand design, which provides effective heatdissipation for the high power lasers/LEDs yet maintains a small sizeand weight that can be easily handled by the practitioner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided aphototherapy apparatus, wherein the therapeutic light is deliveredthrough one or more massage components. The massage component providesmechanical massage to a subject biological tissue and modifies theproperties of the subject tissue in thickness, density, local pressure,micro-circulation, etc. to facilitate the absorption and interaction ofthe therapeutic light with the subject tissue and enhance the effect ofthe phototherapy procedure. Meanwhile, the therapeutic light in itsinteraction with the illuminated tissue also facilitates and enhancesthe effect of the mechanical massage.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a piezoelectricbased synthetic jet actuator is utilized to provide efficient thermalmanagement for the light source of the phototherapy apparatus. Thesynthetic jet actuator features extremely low noise, low powerconsumption, and greatly extended lifetime.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which together with the detailed description below are incorporatedin and form part of the specification, serve to further illustratevarious embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages allin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1a illustrates a cross section view of one exemplified embodimentof the phototherapy apparatus, in which the therapeutic light isdelivered through a transparent massage ball.

FIG. 1b illustrates a top view of the phototherapy apparatus of FIG. 1afrom the side of the massage ball.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing in detail embodiments that are in accordance with thepresent invention, it should be observed that the embodiments resideprimarily in combinations of method steps and apparatus componentsrelated to phototherapy. Accordingly, the apparatus components andmethod steps have been represented where appropriate by conventionalsymbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that arepertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention soas not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readilyapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of thedescription herein.

In this document, relational terms such as first and second, top andbottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity oraction from another entity or action without necessarily requiring orimplying any actual such relationship or order between such entities oractions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variationthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elementsdoes not include only those elements but may include other elements notexpressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, orapparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a” does not, withoutmore constraints, preclude the existence of additional identicalelements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprisesthe element.

In the first embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1a andFIG. 1b , the phototherapy apparatus 100 is in the form of aphototherapy/massage wand comprising an optical head 102, a syntheticjet cooler 112, and a handle 120. The optical head 102 holds a laser orlight emitting diode (LED) light source 104 and a rolling massage ball108. The massage ball 108 may rotate freely in all directions (a 360°freedom of movement) in the optical head 102 with controlled friction.The massage ball 108 is transparent at the wavelength of the therapeuticlight 110 that is produced by the light source 104. Thus the therapeuticlight 110 can transmit through the massage ball 108 to the subjectbiological tissue 128 to be treated. It is also possible to incorporatea group of optical elements between the light source 104 and the massageball 108 for controlling the divergence angle, intensity distribution,uniformity, beam size, etc. of the therapeutic light 110. The lightsource 104 is preferably a high power semiconductor laser or LED, suchas a class IV semiconductor laser mounted on a thermal conductivesubstrate 106. The substrate 106 is further mounted on the optical head102, which is also made of thermal conductive material and comprises anarray of fins along its outer circumference for dissipating the heatproduced by the light source 104.

The optical head 102 is mechanically coupled with a synthetic jet cooler112, which comprises a piezoelectric actuator 114 and an array ofventilation holes 118 matching with the array of fins of the opticalhead 102. The periodic vibration of the piezoelectric actuator 114produces a periodic jet of air flow 116 through those ventilation holes118, which carries away the heated air around the circumference of theoptical head 102. Comparing with conventional fans, this synthetic jetcooler is more efficient since the jet of air flow can be accuratelydirected toward the hot spot. In addition, the synthetic jet cooleroffers much lower noise level, lower power consumption, and greatlyextended lifetime.

The handle 120 of the phototherapy apparatus 100 comprises a group ofcontrol buttons 122 and a display unit 124 used to control and displaysthe on/off status and power level of the light source 104. The controlbuttons 122 and the display unit 124 are electrically connected to adrive/control circuit board (not shown) contained in the handle 120,which provides electric power and control signal to the light source 104and the piezoelectric actuator 114. The drive/control circuit board isfurther powered through a wire 126 connected to a wall plug (not shown).In a slight variation of the present embodiment, the drive/controlcircuit board may be powered by batteries or rechargeable batteries.

Through the handle 120, a practitioner can applied a force to themassage ball 108, causing it to roll on the subject biological tissue128 (such as skin tissue) and deliver a pressure on the tissue incontact with the massage ball 108. On one hand, this rolling andkneading action causes an increase in blood circulation and fluidmobilization of the subcutaneous tissue, smoothes and firms the subjectanatomy. Thus lipolysis is restored and fat cell metabolism isreactivated, resulting in the reduction of fat tissue and smoothing ofcellulite. It also can help for the relief of muscle aches and pain. Onthe other hand, the action also causes a reduction in tissue thicknessand an increase in tissue density. This change in tissue property helpsto reduce the overall absorption and scattering loss of the therapeuticlight 110 and allows the therapeutic light 110 to penetrate deeper intothe tissue and induce stronger photochemical processes, e.g. increase ofATP (adenosine triphosphate), triggering of photo neurological responseand activation of enzymes, changes in local pressure, increases intemperature and permeability of cellular membranes. Since the massageball 108 is in contact with the subject tissue 128, the therapeuticlight 110 will penetrate into the subject tissue 128 directly with noair interface. This feature allows the practitioner to control theintensity of the delivered therapeutic light in a more accurate manner.The photo bio-modulation in turn helps to enhance the effect of themechanical massage by stimulating inter or intra cellular response,increasing micro-circulation, etc.

In another variation of the present embodiment, the massage ball mayhave a diffusive or scattering optical surface, which is capable ofspreading the transmitted light into various angles and directions. Thediffusive surface can be prepared by forming some type ofmicro-structures or by coating a layer of diffusive optical material onthe surface of the massage ball. When the massage ball is not in contactwith the subject tissue, the therapeutic light is diffused by thediffusive surface as it transmits from the massage ball into air. Thusthe transmitted light has an increased spread angle and hence a reducedlight intensity when viewed from a distance away. This reduction inviewed light intensity enhances the safety level of the phototherapyapparatus. In comparison, when the massage ball is in contact with thesubject tissue, the transmitted light is much less distorted or spread.This is due to the fact that the tissue in contact with the surface ofthe massage ball serves as an optical index matching medium whicheffectively reduces diffusing or scattering cause by the massage ballsurface. Hence, the light beam is effectively delivered into the tissuewith desired direction, angle, power density, depth, and intensitydistribution. As another variation, certain optical index matchingliquids, gels, suspension particles, powders may be applied between themassage ball and the subject tissue to further enhance lighttransmittance and reduce the light distortion caused by the massage ballsurface. Those optical index matching media may also have therapeutic orpharmaceutical effect to further improve the effect of phototherapy.

In yet another variation of the present embodiment, the massage ball (orsimply an optical window with curved surface) is rigidly affixed to theoptical head and moves together or in unison with the optical head. Inthis variation, the mechanical massage is performed by kneading thesubject tissue with the massage ball without the rolling action.

In yet another variation of the present embodiment, a motor is installedin the optical head and mechanically coupled to the massage ball togenerate rolling, kneading, and/or vibration movements of the massageball.

One application of the phototherapy apparatus 100 is relieving the painassociated with migraine headaches, in which therapeutic light isdelivered through the transparent massage ball to the forehead, temples,paranasal sinus, and/or neck of the patient. The optical properties ofthe massage ball, such as its refractive index, diameter or curvature,etc. can be utilized to shape the light beam to an ideal spot size orvalue. The phototherapy apparatus 100 may further comprise a touchsensor or a pressure sensor (both not shown), such as a spring loadeddevice feature to control the on/off status of the light source in sucha way that the light source can only be turned on when the massage balltouches the skin tissue. This helps to improve the safety of lasertreatments around the eye by limiting the chance of laser exposure tothe eye directly. Other applications of the phototherapy apparatus 100comprise cellulite reduction, skin rejuvenation, pain relief, fatreduction and/or contouring, laser acupuncture, wound healing, and/orpressure ulcer treatment.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments of the presentinvention have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the artappreciates that various modifications and changes can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as set forth in theclaims below. For example, the therapeutic light source and the massagecomponent are not limited to the presently disclosed forms. The massagecomponent can take any other geometrical forms in addition to thespherical shape as disclosed. Accordingly, the specification and figuresare to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense,and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scopeof present invention. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems,and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution tooccur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical,required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims.The invention is defined solely by the appended claims including anyamendments made during the pendency of this application and allequivalents of those claims as issued.

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A phototherapy apparatus for treatment of abiological tissue, the phototherapy apparatus comprising: at least onelight source to emit therapeutic light to be absorbed by the biologicaltissue to produce a therapeutic effect; and at least one massagecomponent to provide mechanical massage to the biological tissue toproduce a tissue compression effect, wherein the at least one lightsource is external to the at least one massage component such that aspace exists therebetween, wherein the therapeutic light is emitted fromthe at least one light source to the space, wherein said therapeuticlight and mechanical massage are configured to be applied to thebiological tissue in a concerted manner such that the mechanical massagemodifies a plurality of properties or conditions of the biologicaltissue to facilitate interaction of the therapeutic light with thebiological tissue to improve the therapeutic effect of the therapeuticlight, and wherein all of the therapeutic light to be applied to thebiological tissue passes through the at least one massage component. 17.The phototherapy apparatus of claim 16, wherein the therapeutic lightemitted from the at least one light source is delivered onto an outersurface of the at least one massage component.
 18. The phototherapyapparatus of claim 16, further comprising a cooling device that carriesheat away from the at least one light source.
 19. The phototherapyapparatus of claim 18, wherein the cooling device comprises a syntheticjet cooler.
 20. The phototherapy apparatus of claim 16, wherein the atleast one massage component has a diffusive optical surface thatincreases a spread angle of the therapeutic light.
 21. The phototherapyapparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for preventingactivation of the light source unless the at least one massage componentis in contact with the skin tissue.
 22. The phototherapy apparatus ofclaim 21, wherein the means for preventing activation of the lightsource unless the at least one massage component is in contact with theskin tissue comprises a pressure sensor.
 23. The phototherapy apparatusof claim 16, further comprising one or more optical elements disposedbetween the at least one light source and the at least one massagecomponent, wherein the one or more optical elements control an intensitydistribution of the therapeutic light emitted from the at least onelight source.